by Annie Rains
Kaitlyn’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t even considered getting a pet.
“His name is Mr. Darcy,” Mitch added.
“Well, how can I say no to that? That’s perfect.” She looked up and connected eyes with Mitch. Big mistake.
“Merry Christmas, Kaitlyn,” he said quietly.
Tears threatened at the base of her throat. She held Mr. Darcy tightly against her suddenly aching chest and stood to face him. “Thank you. If that’s all, I was just about to head to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day here.” Busier with Mr. Darcy running around, but she didn’t mind that. What she did mind was Mitch standing there and looking at her that way.
“I have something else for you.” He held out a thick orange manila envelope.
She placed Mr. Darcy on the floor and took the envelope with shaky hands. She knew exactly what this was.
“I stopped by Mr. Garrison’s after my shift,” he said.
“Great.” She swallowed thickly. “Thank you. I’ll go to the bank after Christmas and start the process of taking out a loan to pay you.”
“No need for that. I’m not selling my half of the bed and breakfast to you anymore.”
Kaitlyn whipped her head up. “What?”
“I know.” He held up a hand to fend off any arguments she was about to fire back at him. “We had an agreement but I’m backing out of it.”
“You want to keep the B and B?” Her mouth fell open.
“No. I’m not keeping my half either. I’m giving it to someone. It’s a Christmas gift of sorts.”
“A Christmas gift?” she repeated. This had all come down to Mitch giving his half of the inn away as a present?
Kaitlyn opened the envelope hurriedly. She didn’t want another partner. If it wasn’t going to be Mitch, she’d rather go into debt and buy him out. She yanked the documents out and read, her eyes tearing up when she saw the name printed on the bold line. “I can’t believe this.”
Somehow Mitch was standing even closer to her now. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”
She shook her head. “This is…” Kaitlyn was desperately trying not to cry.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“I am doing my very best to hate you right now, and you’re making it nearly impossible.” She blinked back her tears and looked at the name of her new business partner again. Gina Hargrove. “She’s going to be so happy, Mitch. You are a really good son.”
A good man too, she thought. The kind of man she wished she could have as her own. He was strong, hardworking, thoughtful, and one of the most giving people she’d ever met. He’d give the clothes off his back to someone in the middle of that mounting winter storm outside if it was asked of him.
The only thing he wouldn’t give fully, unconditionally, was his heart to her. Maybe that’s why he’d brought her a puppy tonight. It was her consolation prize for falling in love with him.
He took a step toward her. “There is one stipulation in that contract.”
Kaitlyn couldn’t even see the fine print anymore. Her eyes were so blurred with tears. “There’s always a stipulation,” she said on a small, humorless laugh.
“Now that I don’t own the inn anymore, I kind of don’t have a place to stay either.”
She hugged the manila envelope against her chest, pressing it against her rapidly beating heart. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find something when you get to Virginia.”
“That’s the thing. I’m not going to Virginia anymore. I thought I’d stay and help Alex keep the streets of Sweetwater Springs safe from women wielding fire pokers.”
“Really? That’s great, Mitch.” For him and Gina, and the town. But what about her? Could she really see him and not be with him? Would she be able to move on from what they’d had together if she were constantly running into him at the grocery store or coffee shop?
A million thoughts were swirling around in her head like wind-battered snowflakes on their downward spiral toward the ground.
“I also thought I’d stay on the small chance that you ever forgave me for being such a fool.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Christmas is a time for miracles, I guess.”
He grinned. “And love. It’s also a time for love.”
Everything inside her froze. Every muscle, every breath.
“I love you, Kaitlyn,” he said in a low, gruff voice. “I’m in love with you.”
Tears swam in her eyes now, too many to hold back. They streamed off her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away with her shaking hands. “I love you back.”
“Well, that is a miracle.” He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of mistletoe.
“From the Merry Mountain Farms,” she said, looking up into his eyes. She loved those eyes. Loved this man.
“I wanted to use this on you so badly that night it made my head spin.”
She lifted his arm to hold the sprig over her head. “So kiss me now.”
Dutifully, as always, he bent and brushed his lips to hers as Mr. Darcy circled them and woofed excitedly at their feet. Pulling away, she met Mitch’s gaze, and her heart answered with love. He was her home. And there was no place she’d rather be than with him for the holidays.
EPILOGUE
Two months later
The grand reopening celebration for the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast was going well so far. Over the last couple of weeks, Kaitlyn had sent out flyers to everyone in town for the all-day open house event. She had Mable’s famous homemade cookies and tea available, and several townspeople were huddled in one corner of the room enjoying themselves while admiring the designer touches that Kaitlyn had made. Other guests were exploring the newly opened walking trails behind the inn.
“This is a wonderful turnout, don’t you think?” Gina asked, coming up beside her.
“It really is.” Kaitlyn adored having Gina as her partner in this business. She was hardworking, and she genuinely loved doing for others. She made the guests feel at home, and she was full of stories about Mable and Henry’s days at the inn. Kaitlyn felt like she was getting to know her grandparents a little more by spending time with Gina.
“My two favorite women,” Mitch said, stepping up beside them with Mr. Darcy, considerably bigger now, at his side. He leaned in and gave Kaitlyn a soft kiss on the cheek. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear and then lifted his head to look at Gina. “Hey, Mom. Where’s Aunt Nettie?”
“Oh, she’s showing one of the women from our book club the garden outside. It’s such a pretty place this time of year.”
The garden had been Nettie’s idea. It was a masterpiece of vibrant colors that attracted birds and butterflies and guests.
“Mom, do you think you can manage the event on your own for a little bit?” he asked then. “I need to borrow Kaitlyn.”
Gina put a hand on her waist. “What kind of silly question is that? Of course I can. You two go on ahead. Mr. Darcy and I will handle things in here.”
Kaitlyn laughed softly as he tugged her down the hall and toward the bedroom. “Can’t this wait, Mitch?”
He stopped in front of the closed door. She’d closed it to make sure today’s visitors didn’t wander. The entire inn was available for the open house with the exception of their private quarters.
“I’ve waited long enough,” he told her. “I can’t wait any longer.”
* * *
Mitch was still pinching himself over how much his fortune had changed in the last couple of months. He’d gone from a jaded loner who was lost in the world to working at the Sweetwater Springs PD during the day and coming home at night to the most caring, gorgeous, intelligent woman he’d ever met.
Dawanda had been right. He’d fallen quick and hard, and he was staying in Sweetwater Springs forever. Well, minus the romantic escapades he planned to take Kaitlyn on, starting with their honeymoon.
If she said yes.
He reached for the doorknob of their room now. This morning, while Kaitlyn and
his mom had been busy preparing the final touches in the B&B to welcome the entire town, he’d holed up in their bedroom. He wasn’t an interior designer by any means but he was proud of what he’d pulled off in a small amount of time.
“Okay. Close your eyes,” he told her.
“What? Why?” Kaitlyn looked at him with uncertainty.
“I thought you trusted me.”
Her dark hair fell over her cheek as she cocked her head to one side. “I do.”
“Then close your eyes,” he said again, smiling back at her. She was gorgeous, inside and out. He loved her more than he knew he could love anyone. And the feeling only kept growing, expanding inside him, threatening to crack his entire chest wide open.
Kaitlyn closed her eyes, and Mitch waved a hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn’t peeking.
“No cheating,” he instructed and then opened the bedroom door and led her inside. For a moment, he was nervous, wondering if it was enough. Kaitlyn’s rooms were expertly designed down to the smallest detail.
But no. This was perfect.
“Open your eyes,” he said after angling her body to face the bed.
Her eyes fluttered open and bounced from the bed to the wall and the ceiling above it. Her lips parted slightly as she looked around. “You did all this?” she finally asked.
“Our room needed a theme, don’t you think?”
The bedspread was still one of Mable’s quilts. Mable had been integral to their relationship. Sneaky even after death, she was the one who’d brought them together. Above the bed, Mitch had strung just a few strands of twinkling lights. They reminded Mitch of their first kiss under a blanket of stars by Silver Lake. He’d tried so hard to ignore his attraction to Kaitlyn that night, which seemed so long ago now, but he hadn’t stood a chance.
He watched as she took in every detail.
“Is that the picnic basket we used at Evergreen Park the other day?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah.” He’d used the basket to hold books under the nightstand.
Her gaze swept around the room where he’d hung various pictures of random moments together and the places they’d been in town. There was a picture of Dawanda’s storefront. One of Silver Lake. Kaitlyn’s gaze kept going back to the large eleven-by-eighteen picture above the bed. The one Mitch had taken on his phone and had blown up at the Everson printing shop with Brian’s help.
“Kaitlyn and Mitch Forever,” she read.
He’d carved it in a tree outside, right below the words he’d found while hiking the newly established walking trails out back: Mable and Henry Forever.
“In case you haven’t realized yet, that’s the theme of our room. I know we’re not famous, but…”
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, turning to him, her eyes glistening with happy tears. He didn’t mind making her cry if it was because she was happy. She deserved happiness, and so did he, he’d realized. Making Kaitlyn smile did that for him. Serving her, supporting her, loving her made him happy.
Taking both of Kaitlyn’s hands in his, he continued forward on his mission. “I have traveled the world looking for a place where I could feel whole again. Never in a million years did I think that would be right back where I started.” He slowly dropped to one knee in front of her.
Kaitlyn sucked in an audible breath, and he was fairly certain she could guess what was coming next, given how many of those romantic movies and books she enjoyed. He just hoped he lived up to her expectations. He wasn’t perfect. He was human after all. Flawed. Those flaws didn’t make him unworthy though. He understood that now.
“You are my world, Kaitlyn. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. I want to grow old with you here, just like your grandparents did.”
Reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, he pulled out a simple round diamond. Old-fashioned but timeless.
Kaitlyn gasped once more. “How did you get my grandmother’s ring?”
“She left it with Mr. Garrison. He had instructions to give me the ring if things worked out between us. If they didn’t, this ring was to go to you anyway.”
“Sneaky woman,” Kaitlyn said on a tearful laugh.
Mitch looked at the ring and then held it up to her. “Marry me, Kaitlyn, and I’ll try to be the man you deserve.”
She lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “You are the best man I know, Mitch Hargrove. Our love story is my favorite. All of those other couples I named the inn’s rooms after have nothing on us.”
He glanced at the ring and back to her, swallowing hard. “Still waiting here. Do I, uh, need to give this back to Mr. Garrison?”
“Don’t you dare.” She held out her left hand. “This is where it belongs.”
“And you are where I belong,” he said as he slid it onto her finger. Then he rose back to his feet. “I love you, Kaitlyn Russo soon-to-be-Hargrove,” he whispered.
“I love you back, and I can’t wait to be your wife.”
He smiled back at her. “I was thinking a Christmas wedding might be nice.”
She gasped with excitement. “With lights and poinsettias. We can get Halona to help with that. And we’ll need a huge Christmas tree. The biggest on the Merry Mountain Farms’ lot.”
Mitch laughed out loud. “If you’re there, I’m there. Tux and all.”
She went up on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss that evolved to something deeper. “I can’t wait,” she whispered, finally pulling away.
“Me neither.” He gave a longing glance at the bed. There’d be plenty of time for private celebration later. Right now, they had a house full of people who cared for them and wanted to share in their good news.
Taking her hand, they went back down the hall to their home filled with family, friends, laughter, and love.
Grandma Mable’s Gingerbread Cheesecake
The quickest way to Santa’s heart is a slice of my gingerbread cheesecake. Your home will always be the first on his list if you set aside a piece of this delicious dish!
*Yields 12–14 slices and a whole lot of yumminess
Ingredients
Crust: 2 cups of ground gingerbread cookies (homemade is best, but store-bought gingersnaps are fine in a pinch)
¼ cup butter, melted
Cheesecake filling:
3 packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
¼ cup unsulfured molasses
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
A heaping helping of Christmas cheer!
Cranberry topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
Whipped cream, powdered sugar, or molasses (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
2. Double wrap the outside of your springform pan with aluminum foil for a water bath.
3. In a small bowl, add your crushed gingerbread cookies and stir in melted butter while naming Santa’s reindeer (or for 15–20 seconds).
4. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of your springform pan and then 1/3 of the way up the sides. Make sure no one sees you licking the spoon afterward. That’ll put you on the naughty list!
5. Bake until the cookie crust is set (the time it takes to write out two Christmas cards, or about 10 minutes).
6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
8. In a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and beat until fluffy.
9. Add in the brown sugar and beat until fu
lly combined, then add in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl so that everything is evenly blended.
10. While humming “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” add the molasses, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and zest (optional) and mix on medium speed until fully combined.
11. Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Then place the pan into a larger pan and fill the outer pan with an inch of hot water (to prevent your filling from cracking).
12. Bake at 325 degrees in the water bath for 60 minutes.
13. While the cheesecake bakes, it’s the perfect time to prepare the topping. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries and cook until the skins pop. Let the cranberries cool to room temperature and then chill. (Or this is a great way to get rid of any leftover cranberry sauce that you may have from a holiday dinner. I won’t tattle on you.)
14. After baking the cheesecake, place on a wire rack to cool for 1–2 hours at room temperature. Optional: while waiting for the cake to cool, settle onto the couch to watch your favorite holiday movie.
15. Transfer the cake to the fridge for at least 8 hours. If you’ve got an event that just won’t wait (aka Hope for the Holidays), place the cake in the freezer for 1–2 hours.
16. Decorate your cake with the cranberry topping. For extra mmms from your guests, serve with swirls of whipped cream blended with powdered sugar or molasses.
Warning: May cause spontaneous moaning, eye rolling, and possibly a marriage proposal if served to your significant other!
Enjoy,
Mable
Come back for a visit to Sweetwater Springs as ambitious, successful magazine editor Josie Kellum falls
